Sakura Maelstrom
by Tonami Yui
Summary: Sakura remembers a time when she wasn't a sunny blonde haired boy; remembers being spoiled rotten by adoring relatives and cooing adults; remembers a team that supported her, chasing away boys and were more like brothers than anything else. But most of all, Sakura remembers a time when she wasn't named Naruto.
1. Restart

Sakura remembers a time when she wasn't a sunny blonde haired boy; remembers being spoiled rotten by adoring relatives and cooing adults; remembers a team that supported her, chasing away boys and were more like brothers than anything else. But most of all, Sakura remembers a time when she wasn't named Naruto, a time when her parents didn't have blonde or red hair, and when loneliness and abandonment didn't make her consider suicide.

It's utterly confusing once she thinks about it-going from fighting with her team against Kaguya, to seeing a head of blonde hair and sharp, tired ice-blue eyes. But then Sakura thinks of her death. How she longs to get up and comfort Naruto's distraught figure even though her spine-is-completely-severed-oh-my-god by Kaguya's hand and bits of internal organs splattering the ground around her as she falls and Kakashi's horrified face-. Smiling gently as her world goes black, Sakura thinks, this, must be what death is like…..

When a splatter of red blood splashes on her swabbing robe, her scattered memories and exhaustion from having a demon fox sealed into her push her into unconsciousness. But the pain of loss causes her to bawl uncontrollably and _mourn_ for the lost peaceful days.

The first face she sees when she opens her eyes -( and nearly squeaks as she-he's not able to control her-his bowel movements.)- is Kakashi.

Through all the smoke, ANBU uniform and viscera, the faint muted smell of wet dog and clove kunai-oil comforts her as her-his diaper is changed. His eyes are crusted with pain, and are painfully red from lack of sleep, while his lean stance is haggard and slouched. She then tries-and fails- to give a sympathetic pat to Kakashi, but ends up smacking herself in the stomach as something in her gut stirs. Against her will again, Sakura starts crying. Watching Kakashi freak out is something that would normally have her delighted, but after having his precious people killed by _Obito _of all people, she immediately feels guilty.

She decides to go back to sleep-despite the guaranteed nightmares to come.

The next time Sakura wakes up, she's greeted by the the worried face of Mikoto Uchiha.

Sakura supposes that Mikoto is a pretty women-as all Uchiha women are: pale skin, pitch black hair and a lithe figure... But if she looks slightly to the left of Mikoto, someone with chin length hair and stress lines watches on in something reminiscent of sympathy. And then she realizes that the person currently watching on in concern is none other that Uchiha Itachi.

She-he screams for help. Someone-if not anyone to save her from the clan murderer, the cause of Sasuke's pain and betrayal; and if in answer, fifty or so other screams of babies born from stress miscarriage answer her. In an alien way, she is comforted by the sympathetic screams, joining in the shared intrinsic grief of losing a parent.

The caretaker quickly comes around with aids, quieting the children with simple shush and caress of the cheek. Nothing more. Nothing less. None of the typical cooing and near frantic and tired look when her old parents tried to comfort her. None of the slightly too-tight hugs from a doting aunt.

And Sakura is suddenly reminded that she is not Sakura anymore. She is Naruto. A no-name orphan with his childhood hero being his biggest damner. Naruto who smiles and laughs as an iron defense to block harsh words and utter loneliness...Naruto in a time where Itachi did not murder his clan, where Neji is still alive and has no grudge…

Sakura-now Naruto, smiles his baby-ish toothless smile, and closes a tiny fist within her swabbing blanket. She would be able to save so many people-so many lives that had been lost with her own stupidity. This time. This time Naruto thinks. Things would finally be different.

He wakes up several times-screaming from a combination of internal discomfort and distorted nightmares. Every single time, she is immediately cared for by warm, calloused hands that seem huge in her line of vision. They have a familiar sort of smell-like the chakra smoke after a katon jutsu, and Naruto is immediately reminded of Sasuke. Until he realises that the hands carrying him are Itachi's. It takes most of his baby will not to scream for help again.

Even so, the soft cooing sounds are comforting, and it's warm, he thinks. It's comfortable. A careful hand rubs his tender belly and pokes his belly button, making him laugh.

"Mother, Naruto-Naruto's awake."

The voice is hesitant and soft for a future clan killer, but Naruto can't really hold too much of a grudge against the gentle little boy. It's somewhat ironic that he would be the one to trust someone who had lied so often-but for the moment, Naruto thinks that all is good.

.

.

.

He doesn't realize that while he sleeps, the one who calls himself Madara seems to snap up in an epiphany, eyes gleaming red and watery, as suddenly-he remembers.


	2. Reconcile

The first few months pass in a blur of diapers, spilt milk, and clothes that smell like vomit.

Despite the painful sensation of growing teeth, Naruto is smiling; smiling more than he has for the past six months of war and rebirth; smiling at the chance of a new life and chance. Sasuke smiles with him, along with Itachi and Mikoto-laughing even, when Fugaky isn't looking on sternly with a grudging smile. It's utterly hilarious to see normally stern faced figures making ridiculous faces-and yes, Naruto has seen Kagami of all people (what was he now? 50 something years of age) make a constipated fish face with gurgling sound effects to match.

They smile, they laugh a lot more than they had before, even though the summoned Kyuubi has killed more than a third of the people that they as ninja have sworn to protect-even though their hokage has died and has joined his predecessors much too early.

It's ironic how they smile and laugh when all their riches are gone and have nothing but the clothes they wear as they huddle in the homeless shelter with the rest of Konoha's population.

The Sandaime's announcement of retaking his old position leaves a gaping reminder as to how much they've lost, but the will of fire burns brightly. they would rebuild-bigger and better.

.

.

.

Tobi-or Obito now watches his teacher's and Kushina-nee's funeral, watching with pleading eyes as the sandaime announces that their son has died as well, and he as well as the rest of konoha remember Kushina's exuberance at having a child, watching her tenderly rubbing the watermelon like bulge at her abdomen. He stays an appropriate distance away, henged as a random chuunin while considering suicide. _How could he? How could he? He's killed Naruto this time! What about Kakashi? _

Tears run down his scarred, scarred face before he realizes it and he nearly curses as a beam of light from the heavens shines down and illuminates the graves. No. This was not new hope, this was not another chance for retribution. The light was mocking him, highlighting exactly what he'd lost-by his own hands. He uses kamui to escape to his own dimension before letting out a pained howl. there was no redemption this time. He could never, ever go back to being Obito of Konoha, never to go back to the carefree times where kakashi was still "kakashi-teme" and Rin was still…. There…. Naruto had lied. There was no chance of him turning "good". He was a murderer. That was all he would ever be. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Now, there was no hope. The Kyuubi had died. The chakra being sealed into to the death god's belly along with his teacher's soul. Closing his eyes, Tobi slips into the easily childlike persona that he had taken to using so long before-a lifetime ago, he might use as a pun. He palms the cracked goggles that Madara had insisted on him throwing out-and chucks them as far as he can into the non-existent realm.

Surely Nagato would listen to him- to try and resurrect a fellow clan member. Obito wildly thinks as Tobi skips to a whistled tune. Surely.

.

.

.

Day after day, Mikoto takes them to the memorial stone and talks of Kushina.

She mostly begs for forgiveness, for one more chance, one more time to do nothing but rub their swollen bellies and complain of the stomach aches- the weird cravings, and to argue about the most mundane things in life.

Mikoto swears to protect him, painting what rudimentary fuuinjutsu she knows to cover the whisker marks and dyes his hair Uchiha black. The eyes don't change though-at least not around Mikoto. She can't bear to take away the round round blue eyes that remind her of her old teammate and best friend, so she spins a genjutsu to make his eyes the customary Uchiha black.

Itachi helps the pain though, his gentle words of comfort and his own way of taking care of the children alleviate the stress of acting the dignified mistress of the Uchiha clan head in times of poverty. He doesn't even deign to mention how nearly half of the clan-his own baby sitter and her brother and cousins- are gone.

Nor does he mention that his father's body comes back in a black body scroll and he has to help with corps clean up while his mother stands rock still in front of the memorial stone-after all, children can get in those small places in which adults just can't

.

.

.

A dull thump sounds as his team (or what's left of it) finally takes down Orochimaru.

With a stomach wound coated with poison hampering him, and a kunai stuck in the femoral artery in his thigh, from the looks of it, he's not far behind. He staggers even as his medic-ANBU deer yells at him to stay with them, he mentally apologizes as he can't.

Hound, at fourteen, is the youngest ANBU captain in the history of Konoha, is the sole survivor of the famous kannabi bridge mission, and the late hokage's apprentice to the boot- yet still feels like a failure. He still is rumored to be: "friend killer Kakashi", the stealer of an Uchiha's sharingan.

He irrationally wishes he could go to the memorial stone one more time, but remembers that he would be joining the rest of his family anyway. Kakashi thinks of Naruto, of Kushina-nee's swollen belly and chuckles. When he finally gets to meet the little tyke, he would spoil him rotten. As his mask is taken off, he vaguely feels the sensation of being lifted before everything goes dark.

Hello Obito, Rin, Sensei….Dad….

I'm sorry I'm late….


End file.
